How to Chill Wine Quickly

How to Chill Wine Quickly

Have you ever
been in need of a glass of wine pronto but don't have one properly chilled. Luckily, you don't have to! Here are three simple ways to chill a bottle of wine in 20 minutes or less.

#1 Add
salt: The ideal thing to do is to submerge your wine is an ice bucket filled with water and ice (adding the water will help chill it down faster than just ice alone). In
addition, add 4 tablespoons of salt to the mixture to further speed up the cooling
time. Salt reduces the freezing point of water and allows it to become colder
without turning into ice, which in turn chills your wine more quickly.

#2 Spin
it baby: If the water/ice/salt method
isn't chilling your white wine fast enough, keep the bucket nearby and gently spin
the wine bottle in the ice water every couple of minutes. Spinning the bottle
moves around the contents inside, allowing more wine to come into contact with
the cold glass chilling it faster. Keep in mind that this method works best
for non-sparkling still white wines. If you try this with a bottle of Champagne
or sparkling wine the cork may explode along with the contents of the bottle.

#3 Freeze
with a wet blanket: I don't necessarily recommend this for fine and rare wines but putting
wine in the freezer will chill it relatively quickly. To speed up the
process, wet a clean dish towel and wrap it around the wine bottle before you
pop it in. The dampness conducts and holds in cold better, and having the icy
cold towel pressed against the bottle ensures that the entire surface of the
bottle is being chilled. Best to set a timer so you don’t end up with an
explosion or slushy wine!